“The ocean of life is vast. Without the reliable compass of God’s word, we sail aimlessly. Only by the accident of grace – God’s gift, truly – do any of us make the blessed landfall of true faith.” (Dynamis 2/20/2019)
“The grace of God is the ocean in which we live. The ebbs and flows of the Almighty’s lovingkindness carry us where His goodness would have us go. If we fight against the currents of God’s will, we soon sink with exhaustion. And if we think we must earn whatever goodness we can, we must struggle to live outside the waters of God’s mercy.” (Fr. Basil)
“We might liken the depths of the human to the sponge in the ocean. The sponge looks without and sees ocean; it looks within and sees ocean. The sponge is immersed in what at the same time flows through it. The sponge would not be a sponge were this not the case. Some call this differentiating union: the more we realize we are one with God the more we become ourselves, just as we are, just as we were created to be. The Creator is outpouring love, the creation, the love outpoured.” (Martin Laird)
“If we use the analogy of the Church as a sailing ship, we must understand that it is not a cruise ship where we come aboard and receive all the luxuries and benefits, while relaxing and patiently awaiting our destination. The Church is a working ship. By accepting passage on it we accept to be co-workers with the rest of the crew. Our Lord said to make disciples of all nations. Disciples are not tourists they are workers. Jesus Christ as the Captain has given His crew directions. This ship has a specific mission. Its purpose is not to simply wander aimlessly in the ocean being tossed and directed by the whims of the sea until His second coming. The responsibility of every Christian is to know and work towards this mission with all their talents and abilities….Those who have accepted salvation have accepted the task of continuing and working towards the fulfillment of our Lord’s ministry. They have accepted to be fellow workers towards this effort. They have been made stewards of not only the Church, but of its ministry as well.” (Father Steve Dalber)
“Reading Scripture in this way—in obedience, as a member of the Church, finding Christ everywhere, seeing everything as a part of my own personal story—we shall sense something of the variety and depth to be found in the Bible. Yet always we shall feel that in our biblical exploration we are only at the very beginning. We are like someone launching out in a tiny boat across a limitless ocean.” (Metropolitan Kallistos Ware)